Breaking An Imprint
by VividInk
Summary: Leah Clearwater had always been the bridesmaid but never the bride. However, Renesmee Cullen was going to change that fact permanently. BLACKWATER one-shot!


**Breaking An Imprint**

_**A/N: Hello again, people! I'm back with yet another BLACKWATER one-shot! Thanks to all of you who support me and have read and reviewed my previous BLACKWATER one-shots, you are my motivation. Now without further ado, enjoy!**_

_**P.S: This BLACKWATER is set about six years post Breaking Dawn and yes, Jacob has imprinted on Renesmee. The entire story takes place within a week also.**_

_Summary: Leah Clearwater had__ always been the bridesmaid but never the bride. However, Renesmee Cullen was going to change that fact permanently. BLACKWATER one-shot!_

***** BLACKWATER *****

**Leah's POV**

"Leah,"

Renesmee's voice rang out like the melodic tinkling of wind chimes and though it irritated me to no end at first, I'd grown accustomed to it in the past six years. I had had no right to hate her and I still didn't now. But then again, how could one not hate the very thing that snatched the love of its life away from it? How?

I turned hesitantly to face her, her beautiful face, angelic in every way that mine could never be. Maybe that's why everyone loved her, adored her. Because she was just so pure and perfect that it made me look like a tainted mess standing beside her.

"Leah, it would be such an honour if you accepted my offer to be my bridesmaid."

My eyelids fluttered several times, taking in the news. Pretending to be delighted, I plastered a fake smile across my weary face and agreed. I agreed because I knew it would make _him _happy; make _Jacob_ happy. Renesmee smiled in unison with me, her teeth gleaming in the rays of the setting sun as we stood on the Cullens' porch.

Behind my delighted façade, my heart dropped into my stomach, leaving a cold, dull ache in its wake. Oh what a moment of déjà vu. Once before I had agreed to be a bridesmaid, a bridesmaid at a wedding where I'd been head over heels in love with the groom. Now once more, I had agreed to be a bridesmaid; a bridesmaid at a wedding where I would yet again be head over heels in love with the groom.

Quickly excusing myself by mumbling something about going on patrol, I sprinted down the porch steps and into the bushes, ridding myself of my clothes, and tripping over them as I went before phasing. I really was such a masochist. After Sam's wedding I'd sworn never to put myself in such a predicament ever again, but of course yet again, I had.

Even as a wolf I could feel the salty tears sting my hazel eyes as the heartbreak coursed through me like poison so ice cold it froze everything it touched. My muzzle was wet now and I knew all too well that it wasn't the rain that was responsible. I hadn't got very far into the woods away from the Cullens' home, but a sudden surge of hurt made my legs buckle and I collapsed onto the ground by a tree in a furry heap. Tears formed wet paths through the fur on my muzzle as involuntary whimpers and whines escaped my mouth.

The pain was unbearable now and if I was lucky enough it would kill me. But I'd never been one to have luck on my side. Chest heaving and limbs shaking, I felt the familiar burn surge down my spine before I was naked on the forest floor, curled up in foetal position. I didn't try stop the full blown sobs as they shook my frame violently, coming out as short moans of heartache with sharp intakes of breath in-between.

"I l-love you, J-Jacob," I whispered weakly, biting my knuckles in an attempt to stop my teeth chattering, "I l-love y-you,"

Oblivious was I to the angelic figure that had followed me into the forest shortly after, standing behind a large oak several metres away.

**Renesmee's POV**

I could never understand how fate could be so cruel to Leah Clearwater. She had done no wrong in her life and yet time and time again she had drawn the short end of the stick. I had seen with my own eyes the love that existed between Leah and Jacob, albeit Jacob was bound to me by imprinting, but our relationship was not like that of Sam and Emily's, Jared and Kim's or Paul and Rachel's.

It hadn't been clear at first, what our relationship would turn into. Like everyone else, the both of us simply assumed that it would take the form of whatever I needed most. A protector, an older brother, a best friend and maybe even more, but over the last five minutes it had become very clear to me that I did not see Jacob as a lover.

Leah looked so sad, heartbroken as she lay on the forest floor, with endless tears flowing down her copper cheeks like rivers of sorrow, such despair and pain etched across her otherwise beautiful face. Though it was clear to me now that I loved Jacob like a good friend, Jacob had not been so fortunate. For years he struggled with his love for both Leah and I, but in the end he gave up, assuming like everyone else that his love for Leah was merely temporary and would eventually diminish.

I couldn't just stand there and watch when I knew I could do something about it. I knew I had the power to make this right. To free Jacob from his guilt and give Leah the happy ending she so very much yearned for and deserved, even if it meant making a sacrifice on my part: to break the imprint, let Jacob go. I'd been researching Quileute legends with my father for the past couple of months and with a sheer stroke of luck we had stumbled upon a legend that told of breaking imprints. The legend's characters were in a situation much like Jacob, Leah and I were in now, and if it was true then breaking an imprint was simple, _so very simple_.

**Edward's POV**

I watched anxiously from a distance as my daughter conversed animatedly with Jacob Black in the kitchen. Everyone else seemed to realise the importance of their discussion and hung back in the lounge, every bit as apprehensive as I was.

Jacob was shaking his head now, his shoulders and arms vibrating as he attempted to control himself. His thoughts were confused, guilt, unknowing and fear all mixed in with the jumble. Renesmee placed both hands on his face as she continued speaking to him.

**Jacob****'s POV**

"Love her, Jacob. You already do, you just have to _let_ yourself," Renesmee whispered soothingly as she projected images of a smiling Leah into my mind. I was confused, and I was sure she could feel it radiating off me in waves. Six years of all this imprinting crap had brainwashed me into letting it control my life and my feelings. Renesmee was clear on her feelings for me and all she had to do now was convince me of my own.

"No, I c-can't. I don't know h-how," I said through clenched teeth, beads of sweat forming on my forehead as my mind continued through the maze of feelings, untying knots and strengthening others.

"We can do this, Jake." She pleaded, caressing my cheek lovingly, "I have the power to break this imprint but in order for me to do that _you_ have to hand me that power. Try Jacob. For me, for _Leah_. Stop her hurting, make her happy. _Love her_."

The images in my head changed, twisting and turning, mangling for a split second before I saw Leah on the forest floor. Her grey paws soaked in her tears, her frame shaking violently as she despaired. A sharp stab of pain lodged itself in my chest and I flinched at the sudden feeling. The image twisted again and then I was seeing Leah through Renesmee's eyes as I embraced her. There was Leah watching Renesmee and I enveloped in each other's arms and her expression seemed as seething and tough as ever before it faltered and was replaced with one of pure agony. Leah pulled her knees up to her chin and she let her head drop into them. Anyone else would've thought she had fallen asleep, with how still she kept, but Renesmee saw through it. Only Renesmee saw the tiny trickles of tears cascading down her copper knees, and now I was seeing it through her eyes. My legs and arms twitched, wanting to race to Leah and pull her to my chest, kiss her and tell her I loved her.

"That's it, Jacob. Let it all go, let it flow naturally." Renesmee's voice seemed cloudy in reality as my muddled brain processed both it and the images she was showing me. Then suddenly she broke all contact with me and took a step back, her expression suddenly serious and determined, "Do you want this?"

"I- I just- you- what about you?" My voice was hoarse and it faltered as I spoke, not knowing quite what to say.

Renesmee's face softened and she took my hands in hers, whilst she smiled a sad smile, "I will miss your constant company and your warmth, but Leah needs you more than I do."

I frowned at her, my breathing heavy as I surveyed her closely. As much as I wanted to console Leah and love her the way I had always wanted to I didn't want to hurt Renesmee either. We'd been in each others' company for the past half a dozen years and the thought of being away from her seemed too painful to comprehend.

"You won't be away from us, Jacob. You just won't be around as much as you have been. You can still come to visit. You are most welcome in our home. You, Leah and Seth." Edward had decided to step in, putting in his opinion after listening to both my and Renesmee's thoughts for the last twenty minutes.

"You have to choose, Jacob." Renesmee reminded me reproachfully as she reached up to wipe a stray tear that I wasn't even aware had trickled down my cheek, "Don't worry about me. I will miss you, but I'll heal. Leah, she won't."

I took a deep shuddering breath, letting my mind compose itself, but in the end my desire and decision were clear, "You know my answer then,"

***** BLACKWATER *** **

**Leah's POV**

I'd had to endure several days' worth of dress-fittings and make-up trials. That Alice Cullen really was going overboard with the entire wedding. If my bridesmaid dress and make-up was taking up this much time and energy, I could only pity what Renesmee was going through. Luckily for me today was the actual wedding day. All I had to do was sit tight throughout the entire ceremony with the poker face I had been perfecting over the last week and everything would be sweet.

I saw in the chair opposite the mirror as the tiniest leech Cullen put extensions through my hair, brushing it, straightening it and weaving a crown of little white flowers into it all at the same time. There I was again, being the bridesmaid but never the bride. In a few hours I would be watching yet another man I love marry some other lucky woman that wasn't me. The beginnings of a smirk tugged at the corners of my lips, but never made it, as I pondered the thought of my gravestone after my death. I could imagine it now in big letters, 'LEAH CLEARWATER. LOVED BY NONE AND HATED BY ALL. ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID BUT NEVER THE BRIDE'.

A sob hitched in my throat and I quickly tried to pass it off as a cough. My vision began to blur and a knot formed in my throat as I recognized the oncoming of tears. I tried hard not to blink knowing that the moment my eyelids slid shut they would force the fat teardrops from my eyes and onto my cheeks.

Was I really that hard to love? Why of course I was. Everyone was usually jolly and happy at endings but there I always was, ruining everything by crying and being negative. And how could any man love a woman who could turn into a pile of fur one moment and then back into some menopausal bitch the next, and ignore the 'bitch' pun.

Maybe that's why Jacob loved Renesmee. She was beautiful, kind and not menopausal, perfect for Jacob. I didn't even deserve to be pining after him like a lovesick pup who wanted to be loved. Jacob was too good for me. He deserved someone better, someone like _Renesmee_.

The fat tears that had threatened finally decided to fall, creating glistening trails down my copper cheeks and off the end of my chin. A strangled sob escaped my throat as the hurt burned through my chest where there was nothing but a gaping hole now.

I hadn't even registered that Esme had entered the room until I saw her hesitant pale hand reach toward my face with a tissue, stopping just inches before my cheeks. I made no attempt to stop her, too worn out and grief-stricken to bother. The mother-Cullen dabbed my cheeks gently, wiping the tears away as she surveyed me with sorry eyes. If the fire burning in my chest hadn't been so potent I might even have snapped at her and asked her what she was looking at.

"Oh Leah," Esme sighed quietly, reaching for more tissues to dab my cheeks as my tears seemed to double in size and number, "Don't cry, sweetheart. Everything will be fine in the end, it will."

I wanted to scream right then. Scream at Esme that she didn't have a clue what she was talking about. Jump up to my feet and just scream, tear the crown of flowers from my head and rip the hair extensions off. I wanted to phase, ripping the beautiful white gown I wore to shreds and then run into the forest crying. But I couldn't, I wouldn't. For Jacob, I told myself, for Jacob.

And for Jacob I would do this. I would sit through the entire wedding without making a scene, because that's as much I could give in return for his happiness. As long as he was happy, I didn't matter. Once the ceremony and celebrations were over, Jacob and Renesmee could ride off into the sunset and have their happily ever after. Me? I would fine some way to destroy myself. Maybe I'd track some non-vegetarian vampires down and let them kill me. I'm sure burning in the fires of hell was much better than this heartbreak.

**Esme's POV**

I left the room shortly after. Leaving Alice to finish with Leah. Inside my heart I knew that Leah's pain would be gone in a mere matter of hours if everything went as planned, but for now, her suffering seemed unbearable to me. Ridiculous as it sounded, Leah was like the rebellious daughter I never had and her pain seemed to reach me too.

On the floor above, I entered Renesmee's bedroom where everyone else, with the exception of Jasper, Jacob, Seth and Emmett, had gathered.

"No Esme, we can't. She won't believe us even if we tried to explain. She'd take it as a hoax and run off. It's better if we kept it a surprise," Edward mumbled in reply to my thoughts. Everyone else seemed to have heard him regardless.

"What's wrong?" Questioned Rosalie, as she braided Renesmee's hair into a tight plait around her head.

I sighed and bit my lip, "Oh can't we just let the poor girl in on the secret? You should see her, Edward; she's sitting in that chair crying silently while Alice does her hair, all the while thinking that yet another love of her life will be snatched away forever."

Renesmee smiled sadly as she looked at me through the reflection in the mirror, "I know, but she only has a bit more to suffer. Dad's right though, we'll have a better chance of her acting according to plan if we surprise her. So cross your fingers,"

***** BLACKWATER *****

**Leah's POV**

The limousine stopped outside a small chapel in Forks and I carefully slid out of door, mumbling a faint word of thanks to the chauffeur who opened my door for me. This wedding was downright weird. For one, I would never have dressed any of my bridesmaids in white and neither would I have given them veils or have trains put on their dresses.

"I don't like the veil. I never knew bridesmaids wore veils and had trains on their dresses anyway," I muttered quietly, but not quietly enough as Alice piped an answer almost straight after in response.

"Well this bridesmaid does,"

Here we go, I thought to myself as I held the sides of my dress up so I could walk up the chapel steps whilst Alice held the train of my dress off the ground so it wouldn't get soiled. As I reached the last upper step of the chapel and took in the sight before me, I froze, panic filling my mind and body. I could only hear the blood pounding in my ears and feel my heart slamming like a hammer into my chest.

The entire chapel was full of visitors. Why did it seem like I was the last to arrive? Why did I see Sam and Emily, Jared and Kim, Paul and Rachel, Quil and Claire and _my mother_ in amongst the pews? Why was Renesmee standing in front of me all of a sudden in, not a white but, a lilac coloured gown with no veil and no train?

"You're not the bridesmaid today, Leah," Edward said, appearing from my left as he smiled warmly at me and gestured toward the aisle, "You're the bride,"

The bouquet I had been holding slipped from my fingers and had all but skimmed the floor when a pair of hands caught it.

"Hey sis," Seth greeted, handing the bouquet back, "You ready?" Seth stuck his left elbow out at me, waiting for me to take it. Was Seth giving me away? Hang on, what? This was MY wedding?

Before I knew it, someone had started playing the organ and Seth jerked me forward, dragging me stoned down the aisle almost. My brain was going into overdrive as I processed all of it. Everything sort of had an ethereal sort of quality to it and I was having difficulty deciding whether I was dreaming or not.

We reached the front before I could say another word, where the suited figure of a man stood, with his back facing me. Clichéd as it sounds; time seemed to move in slow-motion as the suited figure turned to face me, revealing the handsome face of Jacob Black.

Seth led my hand forward as Jacob took it, kissing my knuckles gently before smiling bashfully at me, "Hey Leah,"

I was shaking my head now, my mouth agape, "N-No, I must be d-dreaming. This isn't h-happening!"

My frame was shaking now, I was losing control. I was sure I was dreaming. There was no way everything that had happened could be true. I wasn't that lucky. I was still the heartbroken bitch and Renesmee was still marrying Jacob, I was sure of it. And then like a splash of cold water, there was calm, everywhere and all around me. I spotted Jasper out of the corner of my eye.

Jacob gingerly held my face in his hands as he forced me to look at him, "No, you're not dreaming Leah. This is real. I'm real, you're real. Everything is. I love you, Leah."

"B-But how- this doesn't m-make any sense y-you-"

"We broke the imprint, Renesmee and I did. Renesmee found a way and we did it." Jacob said, his thumbs stroking my cheeks as he spoke, "It's all over, Leah. I love you, and I'll love you forever. I won't let you hurt anymore. Will- will you m-marry me, Leah Clearwater?"

I didn't care anymore. Jacob Black was saying the words I'd always wanted to hear and I was going to accept his offer in this dream-like trance I was in. Even if it was a dream I was going to live it out to the fullest, make it last as long as it would before I woke up.

We said our vows and everyone cheered and clapped. We kissed like there was no tomorrow and then once we'd found some time alone away from the festivities we made passionate love endlessly, and I savoured every minute of it. I was in heaven and nothing else mattered right then.

***** BLACKWATER *****

_**EPILOGUE**_

**Leah's POV**

Turns out it wasn't a dream after all. It had taken me several days before it sunk in for good. Every morning I would wake up in our home (which Billy and Sue had bought for us by the beach), with my beautiful Jacob lying beside me, naked in all his glory as the sun's rays illuminated his russet skin. He'd awaken in the morning and greet me with a cheeky smile, before tackling me onto the bed and engaging in a play-wrestling match, which soon led into more passionate activities. And at night much the same would occur only he'd approach the matter in a much more sensual manner, with massages and baths together.

Somewhere along the way fate had decided to become kind to me. We'd been married for close to six years now and our family of two soon grew into a family of six (all those 'passionate activities' were bound to have consequences). Ephraim, Eli, David and Rhea, aged five, four, two and one respectively were the best thing that ever happened to me, after my marriage to Jacob. Ephraim, Eli and David took after their father; the three boys inherited Jacob's russet skin tone, bone structure, nose and lips, but inherited my hazel eyes. Rhea, my little daughter, inherited my copper skin but otherwise took after her father.

Rhea shrieked loudly as the strands of spaghetti slipped off her fork and onto her lap.

Jacob sighed and lifted the baby girl from her highchair with ease, whilst cleaning up, "You're stubborn like your mother, never let anyone help her until she dug a hole around herself."

I chuckled, wiping little Rhea's face as she obstinately leant away from my hands, "Well, I dug a hole around myself but _someone_ always came to my rescue."

There was thumping down the stairs before a chorus 'byes' ensued as three young boys darted out the front door toward the beach.

A trill of laughter bubbled up my throat as I watched Jacob frown at his sons, "Don't worry, they'll be fine. Besides, they remind me of you when you were younger,"

Jacob snorted, "I'm quite sure I said 'good morning' before saying 'bye'."

I patted my stomach absentmindedly as I rested my cheek against his arm, "Let them play. We'll have more company round the house soon anyway,"

Jacob's eyebrows jumped further up his forehead as he turned to face me, "What?"

I smiled before I took rhea from him and kissed her forehead, "How d'you feel about having a little brother or sister, Rhea?"

The next thing I knew, Jacob had his arms around me and was swinging both me and Rhea around the kitchen, and in that instant I knew. Esme was right, everything would be fine in the end, and I certainly had no doubts about that now.

***** BLACKWATER *****

_**A/N: The end! Hopefully the end wasn't too cheesy, what with them getting married and having some big baby-boom after fate made Leah not menopausal anymore. I knew I enjoyed writing it though it took me about 6 hours, so please share your thoughts with me! I would be very appreciative and grateful! **__**And sorry for any typo errors!**_


End file.
